Michael Moore Launches 60-City Swing State Tour

9/23/2004 10:38:00 AM

Michael Moore Launches 60-City Swing State Tour; College and NBA Arenas in 20 Battleground States to Feature Live, On Stage, Oscar- winning Filmmaker; He Plans to Rally Non-voters and Slackers, 'America's Majority'

To: National Desk

Contact: Ken Sunshine or Mark Benoit, 212-691-2800, both of Sunshine Consultants

NEW YORK, Sept. 23 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Calling it his "Slacker Uprising Tour" in an effort to get millions of traditional non- voters to the polls on Nov. 2, the Oscar-winning filmmaker of "Fahrenheit 9/11" and number 1 bestselling author Michael Moore announced today that he will embark on a 60-city tour to the 20 battleground states beginning Sept. 26 in Elk Rapids, Michigan, and ending on Election Day in Tallahassee, Florida.

Moore will be appearing on college campuses in their auditoriums, arenas, stadiums and field houses (Penn State, Univ. of Arizona, Univ. of Florida, among others), NBA arenas (Seattle), and hockey arenas (Toledo). Nearly all venues will hold between 5,000 and 15,000 people, with students -- historically the largest block of non-voters in presidential elections -- admitted for free at most events (at some events, non-students will pay $5 or a nominal charge to cover costs).

Moore's show will consist of his monologue, interaction with the audience, and a few surprise guests. He will read letters he's received from soldiers in Iraq (published in his new book, "Will They Ever Trust Us Again -- Letters from the War Zone"), offer prizes for people who register to vote, and conduct the "world's largest karaoke sing-a-long" to John Ashcroft's "Let the Eagle Soar." At many venues Moore will show as yet-unseen clips from his "Fahrenheit 9/11" DVD (to be released Oct. 5), and give everyone present a chance to win their own "pet goat."

"It should be a lot of fun," said Moore. "Most Americans don't vote, and it's not all that hard to understand why. So, I'd like to offer them some incentives to give it a try, just this once. The 50 percent who are the non-voters are never called by pollsters and are usually ignored by candidates. Should just a few percentage points of the 100 million non-voters decide to show up on Nov. 2 -- watch out."

Moore said his goal is to see that over 56 percent of the voting public votes in this election -- something that has not happened since 1968.

"It is not the wealthy and the elite who don't vote," added Moore. "The non-voters are the poor, the disenfranchised, the single moms and young people. I am calling for a non-voter uprising, led by thousands of campus slackers who proudly sleep 'til noon and who believe papers are for rolling, not reading. They are rightfully cynical, but this year their motto will be: "Bush and Kerry Both Suck -- That's Why I'm Voting for John Kerry!"

With a number of venues already sold out, over 600,000 people are expected to show up on his tour. Even more will see his film, "Fahrenheit 9/11," which will be shown on most campuses before his arrival. In a warm-up to the tour, 10,000 people last night were able to get into to the Carrier Dome in Syracuse for Moore's appearance, with thousands more being turned away due to lack of seats.

Early word of Moore's tour has already sparked protests by campus Republicans and two schools have already caved to pressure to cancel Moore's event.

"I understand why some Bush supporters might be upset," Moore reflected. "I would be, too, if I only had a few weeks left in power."

Cities Michael Moore Will Visit:

Elk Rapids, MI, Big Rapids, MI, Mt. Pleasant, MI, Dearborn, MI, East Lansing, MI, Detroit, MI, Ann Arbor, MI, Flint, MI, Grand Rapids, MI, Albion, MI; Seattle WA; Tucson, AZ, Phoenix, AZ, Flagstaff, AZ; Albuquerque, NM, Santa Fe, NM, Las Cruces, NM; Toledo, OH, Columbus, OH, Cleveland, OH, Cincinnati, OH, Athens, OH; Ames, IA, Iowa City, IA; Fairmont, WV, Charleston, WV; Charlottesville, VA, Fairfax, VA; Pittsburgh, PA, Philadelphia, PA, Erie, PA, Bethlehem, PA, Carlyle, PA, State College, PA, Indiana, PA; Minneapolis, MN, St. Cloud, MN; Gainesville, FL, Miami, FL, Boca Raton, FL, Orlando, FL, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Tallahassee, FL, Jacksonville, FL, Tampa, FL; Nashville, TN, Memphis, TN; Salem, OR, Eugene, OR, Portland, OR; Milwaukee, WI, Madison, WI, Green Bay, WI, Stevens Point, WI, Stout, WI; Kansas City, MO, St. Louis, MO, Maryville, MO; Las Vegas, NV, Reno, NV

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• Michael Moore Speaks Tonight at Thomas & Mack - October 15, 2004 A well-known director comes to Las Vegas today to encourage college students to vote. The filmmaker will bring his "Slacker Uprising Tour" to UNLV tonight. UNLV's student government is paying more than 12,000 dollars to host Moore's tour. Tickets to his speech at the Thomas and Mack Center are $5.00 dollars.
• 30 turn out for anti-Moore protest - one of about 30 demonstrators who voiced their disagreement with Moore’s politics and the actions of UNR’s student government.